Detox, good food, holisitic stuff? Argh!

Has anyone had their cat go through "detox" when switching from a cheaper cat food brand to a super premium brand?

I've been under the assumption that Mabel is allergic to a LOT of things... in the past she's always vomited 2-3 times per week on food that she's done well one. She's had blood tests, x-rays, etc and the vet has said that she suspects that Mabel is probably has IBD but it would cost like 1,000 in endcopic tests etc to properly diagnose it.

On Mabels' old food, her appearence was somewhat okay... (small amount of dander.. etc) but she had those vomits like 2-3 times per week (or more) and they were always after eating and the food is undigested and it has a small amount of mucus.

Now, Mabel has been on new food for about a week. Her eyes are a little runny and looked a little pink in the 3rd eyelid. She also got a scab at the base of the ear. These things have happened just about every time I've switched food (usually to a higher quality). The vet thought food allergies, and they cleared up when put back on the old food. BUT....I've noticed some new things however, Mabel has never puked up the new food and she has no dander anymore. It's like she's better on the inside but worse on the outside.

I was worried yesterday about her appearance and wondering if she was getting sick, so I gave her some of her old food this morning and she vomited it. Then she would only eat the new food... once again she had no problems and was better again!

So I stopped at the holistic pet food store where I've been making these purchases... and asked the owner about it. She seemed to think that Mabels ears being dirty, the runny eye and the ear sores are a form of detoxification as she's expelling all the chemicals and stuff from her old food. She gave me a little bag of vitamin C powder and said to give her a small pinch with her food to see if it would help as allergies are an immunological response and the Vit C would help her immune system if that was the case. She also said to just feed one kind of food to her right now until she gets used to it (she had a new dry and wet food...and I do switch wet foods often..). I was just going to give her wet, but she really just wants that new dry food.

Her eye does look better today... I didn't give her the wet food I've been giving her the past few days...I'm just so confused.

Has anyone ever had their cat go through this type of thing? Does anyone use holistic medicine? What do you think?

I'm just stumped!

I use it when conventional medicines fail. Holistic means just brought my horse up out of a bad situation with his health. I totally do believe that holistic works however- there are fakes out there that tout holistic practices, so be sure you check anything out first to the best of your capabilities before feeding it to your cat.

For now I would just keep her on the dry and see how that goes. If all goes well than you can start giving a little canned food again but I would stick to one brand/flavor at first just to make sure the wet food is'nt causing any problems. Are you sure its nothing in your household that could be irritating her?

I've switched my cats food many times and none of them have ever gone through any kind of detox that Im aware of (even when I switched from a low quality food to a high quality food). Im not sure I really buy into that theory....but thats just my opinion.

I use holistic ways when possible too. I wish I had a sequence of pictures when our cat went through panluekemia (distemper) as a young kitten. We lost her brother to it the day after we brought them home, with no one knowing he was sick, just to show how fast and furious it comes on. He was the first one in the shelter to get it, otherwise they never would've sent them out. These kittens were healthy, not from a feral mom and not strays. There were no drugs used on our girl, mainly homeopathy and a chinese herbal before she got sick. It went on for about 2 weeks and she had a few times where she went downhill and we thought we'd lose her, but I'd pick out a homeopathic remedy to give her and got the right one each time, so she'd pull out of it.
Her sister, the only other survivor from that litter, had some drugs before I told the shelter owner what I had done and she added my stuff to her regimin and she did survive, but she didn't pull out of it nearly as well as ours. You'd never know ours had been so sick. She'll be 2 this spring and she looks great. She's energetic, playful, sweet, and talkative. The only problem we've had with her since was a couple of eye infections, which ended after I gave her one more dose of the remedy that brought her out of the last of the distemper.
I think it's the best way to go with animals, give or take a few conditions; and for people too! That's because I've personally experienced what it can do, after MDs told me there was nothing wrong with me, even though I could hardly get out of bed in the morning.
I could go on and on, as I've done on here before, so I'll quit and spare all of you. I'm sure I've gained a reputation here!

Well, RBG, allow me to join you in that reputation pool! I'm a confirmed patient of homeopathy and nutritional therapy myself, and I was led here by a couple of our cats. Since finding that my own conditions responded to them, we have used them successfully (working with homeopathic vets) with many, many rescued cats. I'm so happy to see how these kinds of approaches really work, it's hard to look back.

One of my previous cats, Twinkles (who sadly passed away), was 7 years old when I switched her to a high quality cat food. She went from Whiskas to Solid Gold. At first, I didn't notice much of a difference. I was holding Twinkles, about a week after switching, and her fur stunk! She smelled like rotten fish! I researched on the internet to find the cause of her stinkiness.

I learned that...

A: Toxins can be found in foods that contain poor quality ingredients, preservatives, additives, artificial flavorings, artificial colorings, and other unwanted fillers.

B: When poor quality foods are fed, the body does not have the strength to efficiently eliminate toxins. As a result, toxins are stored within the body which in turn can lead to health problems.

Twinkles was obviously going through it. For the first week, her fur was really stinky, the second week, her eyes were runny. About a month later, she was silky, soft and shiny. She smelt fresh and clean! Her stools were firmer, her fur didn't fall out anymore! She was a happy and extremely healthy kitty for 2 more years. She died at the young age of 9. Atleast she passed away without a dozen or more toxins in her system.

After I switched my kitties over to high quality food, I realized just how much of a difference it really can make. When you see worms in your cats stools, it is detoxification. There body is ridding itself of the worms. When they eat wholesome foods, whether it be raw or high quality dry food, you will notice the difference. It took my kitties a full month to look as shiny as they do!

Just a correction, it is not necessarily a detoxification when you notice worms outside the cat, it is an infestation and the worms have grown to the point where they no longer can stay inside the cat's body so they go outside. For example when you see hard rice like segments on your cat's bum, that is actually tapeworm eggs, the host worm is still in your cat's system clinging to the side of the soft tissue.

The same goes with the round worms, they have taken up so much space that the cat's only recourse is to pass them anyway the cat can.

Thanks Hissy! I knew I should have researched that one before I posted it. So, what I should have said is that, it can be a form of detoxification!

That's okay, I just didn't want someone to read this post and if their cats have visible worms think to themselves that the problem is solved and the cat won't need the proper medication to rid themselves of the infestation, because that is usually not how it works.

Sierra has a wonderful holistic vet, and I am a firm believer in holistic medicine! Detox is a natural progress as the body rids itself of the toxicity that has built up over time. Have you tried California Natural Chicken and Rice? It's especially good for kitties with allergies. It's a little more expensive but well worth it.





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